Hey there! Welcome back to the sequel for "A Little Excitement". I was just hanging out one day and this idea came to me. Another guilty pleasure fic that will hopefully see its end if all goes well. I've also got some fanart on my DeviantArt for those who'd like a visual on these little sweeties. Kids? Who would've thunk it? Enjoy!
"So far so good," Mr. Incredible smirked in Dakota's direction as the teenager dropped what was left of an old car. The two of them were in a large room where the spikey-haired boy often came for practice with his powers; it was safe and away from prying eyes. The place was also good for Mr. Incredible's occasional exercise, which was what he had been doing previously. The super strong man picked up a bus over his head, raising an eyebrow. "But not good enough!"
Dakota's blue eyes flashed with a strange aura as the bus suddenly came hurling at him. He put his hands up, stopping the large vehicle's descent upon him. The weight of it pushed his feet backwards, but there it was, suspended in mid-air just beyond his reach, surrounded in the same red aura. Dakota gritted his teeth, willing as much energy as he could into keeping the bus where it was. Mr. Incredible smiled, impressed. For a boy with only one super parent, his powers were outstanding. Eventually Dakota shouted from the effort, letting his arms drop, and the bus along with them. The ground shook, and the boy nearly fell over. "Good enough?" He panted.
"Good enough." Mr. Incredible smiled.
"I've been practicing really hard, really wish I could grab something bigger, but.. well."
"Give it some time, you're still young."
"I'm fifteen, Grampa. That's five years away from twenty!"
"I still can't believe that's my kid." Buddy sighed from the other side of the training room, watching with intense interest with Violet. "Shame there's no manual for stuff like this."
"There isn't a manual for your moods either, but I seem to be getting along just fine." Violet smirked, jabbing him in the arm playfully. He cringed, returning his eyes back to the sight on the other side of the glass. Dakota had picked up several small items, launching them forward to smash against a far wall. It was as if he'd acquired a real-life zero-point energy that didn't need to be aimed and never ran out. That wasn't even the only thing the teen could do. It boggled Buddy's mind that the boy had none of his intellect, yet rivaled his mother's powers with only half the genes of a typical super. Call it luck, call it a freak of nature, but damn.
When the idea of kids had come to light, the last thing he'd expected was what he'd been given. Two kids with two extremes of either parent and like hell if he'd agree to a third. Playing Russian roulette with his remaining sanity wasn't Buddy's idea of fun regardless of what excuse Violet tried to give him. Just as he'd been thinking this, a little girl with bright red hair entered the room, peering through the window with a curious expression. "The trajectory is off. Hmph."
"Does it really matter?" Buddy muttered down at the small version of himself.
"Of course it matters! Ten degrees more is the difference between damage and death!"
"Do I have to start watching what books you're checking out from the library again, Lily?" Violet turned towards the girl, eyes narrowed sternly. The thirteen year old stood aghast, shaking her head quickly. The response didn't seem to elicit the response that she was hoping for, but it took the attention away from her favorite hobby temporarily.
Of the two children, both parents were more concerned about the well being of their daughter. Buddy often swore up and down that Lily was re-living his life from the day he was born. She had been born without any special powers, but unfortunately she'd managed to inherit not only her father's flaming hair and freckles, but his brain as well. That fact alone was enough to make the former villain do everything within his power to keep the girl on the straight and narrow with the law. Just as his foster parents often lectured him, Buddy found himself often reminding the pre-teen genius that she was indeed human and not half as old as she wanted to be. The battle of same-thinking minds was often surreal, but due to being the parent, he often (and thankfuly) won.
"Hey 'Kota! Catch!" Lily had run out into the training area and had wound up a baseball, tossing it at him. The ball was nearly halfway there before she'd called and he'd hardly had time to turn around and stop it. "Bet you can't get it through that window!" She pointed at the bus that he'd tossed down and strode over towards her older brother. He ducked down and allowed her to point the direction out and explain what he had to do to accomplish the silly goal.
"Really normal family we've got." Buddy muttered. Violet giggled. Much to their relief, the younger girl hadn't felt any ill-remorse towards her brother, but instead seemed to idolize the boy. They were often caught getting into trouble of all varieties around the neighborhood, and someone would be hard pressed to find one child without the other. He was interested in the experiments she often conducted, and she was interested in just how far his powers could really go; it was win-win.
Dakota launched the baseball toward the window, frowning as he'd missed and hit the one beside it. Instead of having time to ponder it, his eyes slowly widened as the missle bounced around inside the vehicle, smashing every window with enough fervor to cause Lily to cheer in excitement before the ball finally came back to its surprised owner. She clapped for him, and he made a sweeping bow.
"I'll admit it, Pine. You've got your hands full." Mr. Incredible smirked, giving his daughter a light hug before heading back home. Accepting the fact that Violet had wanted to spend the rest of her life with the very person who'd caused him an inate amount of misery wasn't easy. Fortunately, the one thing he could've wished upon the younger man had come true, and now he had two bundles of insanity to show for it. Not that he minded the extra family, in fact he loved the heck out of the kids, and they seemed to have similar feelings. It was something to clear the air, at least.
"If only you knew." Buddy muttered. The ride home had been uneventful and dinner had been generally silent until the kids decided that they needed something to talk about over turkey.
"Charlie talked to me today." Lily sighed, and Dakota's eyes rolled.
"He's such a jerk."
"So are you, what's new?"
"He gave Joey a swirly the other day!" Dakota shot back, but his sister was unconvinced that her dream-man had any bad qualities. While Violet wanted to interject about arguing at the table, she ended up being too amused to say anything. It must've been nice to have a sibling within a close enough age range to be able to talk about those things. Tony-loaf. Sigh.
"New subject. You're moving busses now." Lily smiled.
"Eh, not really. I can't hold onto it for long and I definitely can't throw it."
"Still, that's pretty big. You know what would be really cool? Pulling up the road underneath someone. Just like that cartoon. Think you can do that?" The two of them snickered at the memory, and Dakota shrugged. Violet finished chewing her food, putting her fork into the air.
"Don't take on too much at a time. Don't want to hurt yourself."
"I know, I know." Dakota sighed, pushing his peas around the plate. It was usually around this time that it occurred to Buddy that he was indeed listening in on such a strange conversation. For all intents and purposes, he was nothing but the average dad who just happened to make a lot more money than most parents and just happened to be too smart to out-smart. The kids knew nothing of his former alter-ego, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. Hell, there were some days when he woke up and realized he was a dad! Fifteen years later and he was still trying to take the whole idea in.
While Dakota was training to join the supers on their nightly vigils, he was still too young and inexperienced. Nobody knew the full extent of his powers, and he had only recently been taking lessons from a resident telekenetic super. The friend of Elastigirl had warned Violet to be careful with him after viewing his abilities for herself; it was the kind of thing she rarely saw a child of his age do, and she was convinced that the red aura was a forboding color...but nobody ever claimed that the lady was entirely sane herself. Regardless, he spent every tuesday after class at her house and after much labored practice was able to successfully communicate with telekenesis.
"I did a little bit of reading on stem-cell research in class today." Lily broke the silence, taking a drink of her milk. "I've been wondering if the super's abilities have anything to do with that. Or maybe," She grinned. "It's in the blood, like the saying goes. Hey Kota, can I have some of your blood?"
"Um, no." Buddy interjected, lowering the newspaper he'd been reading. "You obviously forgot to read the part where they were arguing over the morality of it. And no sticking your brother with needles. Not until you get your PhD."
"A guy who creates weapons of mass destruction for a living is arguing with me over morality?"
"Irooonnyyy." Dakota snickered.
"Don't get him started, Lily." Violet pointed at the girl with her fork. She pointed the fork at Dakota as well, eyes darting between the two children threateningly. It was a subject that Buddy would've gladly argued his daughter under the table over, but his wife's intervention cut his upcomming monologue short.
"So you're saying if I get a PhD, I can stick 'Kota?"
"That's what I'm saying."
"Don't say that!" Dakota argued, cringing.
"You heard it!" She pointed at him, laughing, but her brother wasn't amused.
"It's my blood, don't I get a choice!"
"Of course you do." Violet replied.
"NOT!" Lily snickered.
"Help with the dishes, please." Their mother smiled pleasantly at the two groaning kids and walked off with her plate. Lily jabbered on about her PhD plans while Dakota tried not to think about it. After everything was finished the kids went off to their respective rooms and left the parents with some much-needed alone time. Buddy clicked away at his cell phone and Violet took to a good book, using his shoulder as a pillow. After a long moment of silence, it was she who spoke.
"They're getting bigger every day."
"You always say that."
"I think I actually mean it this time." She chuckled lightly, putting her book down and snuggling up with him. After the last text message, he was finally able to put the phone away. She smiled, landing a neat kiss on his cheek and sighing gently. Violet would have never imagined that a random marriage proposal could last seventeen years, but there they were. The funny thing about it was that neither of them had really been interested in children at first. What with Buddy's high-profile work and Violet's little diner on the corner, there was hardly time for anybody but themselves, and even that was put into jeapordy many times. At some point the decision had been toiled over, and then bam. It happened.
"One of these days they're gonna figure it out." Buddy murmured, running a hand along Violet's raven hair that she'd never bothered to cut into any other style. She nodded from her place on his shoulder and sighed.
"Someday. I really don't know why you worry so much about it. Whether you want to believe it or not, you're still just the same old Buddy Pine to me. I doubt they'd think any differently."
"I'm not old."
"Are you ever going to accept the facts?" She smiled up at him. Buddy raised an eyebrow, peering at her skeptically. If not for the fact that she was a girl, he might've been secretly jealous of the fact that she hadn't aged a day past twenty. Then again, she didn't have his job either. But past all of that, it was all in the eyes. Something about them, they were just.. fun to look at. He smirked.
"About the time you accept that two is as many as you're gonna get." She paused for a moment, then proceeded to pout and return to her customary snuggling place. Violet smirked to herself.
"Gonna have to get sneaky, I guess."
"Gonna start sleeping on the couch if the thought ever crosses your mind."
"Already did..."
"Was nice knowin' ya, babe." Her reaction had included a not-so-painful jab to the side as he attemted to salute and scoot to the other side of the couch. The way was blocked by a small force field, and Buddy could do little else but pretend to be terrified. She laughed hysterically and returned to his side, yawning from the long day.
"What're you afraid of, anyway?" She snarked.
"The world isn't prepared for a super-smart super, trust me."
"Or a perfectly normal person."
"Are you willing to take that gamble?" He peered at her warily, but the look on her face told all. Not that it mattered. This was one battle that she'd never win. A kiss shared between them was interrupted by "Gross", as Lily passsed by on her way to the kitchen. The comment was met by a simultanious roll of their eyes as she returned in the same direction. Eventually silence reconvened between the two parents, but it was interrupted by an unexpected text. Buddy reached over the coffee table to pick up the phone that was attempting to vibrate its way off the table, flipping it open.
Don't worry, Syndrome. I remember you.
"What the hell?" He muttered, checking the number of the message's sender only to find nothing.
"What is it?" Violet peered up at him, but he'd deleted the message as quickly as it had appeared.
"Idiot from work." Buddy replied quickly, putting the phone down again and sitting back thoughtfuly. For the rest of the night he couldn't help but look over his shoulder, expecting someone or something to be in the shadows, listening in on his conversations. Had that message been a coincidence? It had to be! But all that asside, the last time he'd bothered to play the bad guy was before Dakota had been born. Who would even recall him, let alone text about it? The thought had bothered him enough to lose sleep over.
I remember him too... but I sure as hell don't remember you.
